In Their Words

French 75mm Field Gun

Artillery was the most common method of deploying gas and other toxic chemicals around the battlefields of World War I. The French 75mm gun was the primary artillery piece used by both French and A.E.F forces during World War I. Designed and adopted by the French army in 1898, the French 75 revolutionized artillery design. The weapon featured a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism which absorbed the recoil of the weapon’s barrel during the firing sequence. This allowed the weapon to remain in a fixed position, without the need to re-aim after each shot. In combat, this resulted in greater accuracy and the ability of French and American gun crews to place large numbers of rounds quickly on target. The 75mm gun was extremely versatile and could fire a variety of high explosive, anti-tank, and chemical (gas) shells. Lacking an effective artillery piece in quantity upon its entrance into the war in 1917, American forces quickly adopted and trained on the use of the French 75mm gun.

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